


These Hazards of Love

by Williamsaysgayrights



Category: Campaign (Podcast)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, spoilers for nordia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:49:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29246847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Williamsaysgayrights/pseuds/Williamsaysgayrights
Summary: Travis takes Margaret's deal in Nordia. Gable learns what that means for them.
Relationships: Gable & Jonnit Kessler, Gable/Margaret (Campaign Podcast), Gable/Margaret/Travis Matagot, Gable/Travis Matagot, technically travis/margaret but it isnt the focus
Comments: 7
Kudos: 10





	These Hazards of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so for some reason thinking about Travis, his relationship with vulnerability and his friendship with Gable made me go 'huh. Travis dying is heartbreaking. Nice!' So this fic exists and broke me even just writing it.
> 
> Shoutout to the uwuru for coming up with the final scene and letting me write it into this fic. You're all wonderful and I love you
> 
> Edited by the absolutely wonderful Rowan yet again (DrowningInStarlights) who's comments while editing were great to read. You're amazing <3
> 
> Title from (obviously) The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)

“They lied.”

The look on Margaret’s face says it all, and he feels his heart break as she looks over the wilted petals in the shrine. They  _ lied _ to him, broke his heart to make him mortal, got sick of him and wanted him— no. No, it’s  _ Gable _ , he realises. They wouldn’t do this without a reason. He can pretend he doesn’t know what it is he wants, but he does. 

Margaret looks at him, sadness written across her face - for this, her emotions are clear to see, and Travis can tell how upset this makes her.  _ Try being me, Margaret,  _ he almost shouts, anger rising up to grab the sadness in him and pull it under to steal its place. She begins to speak words of comfort that he can barely hear, thoughts of Gable fraying his trust and clouding his mind. 

The worst part is he understands why. 

Fine. If they want to lie to him to make him happy, he’ll let them. He knows Gable doesn’t want him gone, but the fact that they took his vulnerability and broke their promise to  _ spare _ him hurts in a way Travis hasn’t felt since his fucking  _ wife _ died. Gable was the first person he freely gave his trust to in  _ so long _ \- no matter how much they mean to him, they lied, and it aches. The anger flares up faster this time - all his life, Travis has trusted only those closest to him. All his life, the people he has trusted have left him or lied. 

He’s so very fucking  _ tired _ of it all. 

He thinks about his options, all of the choices he’s made over the last two hundred and twenty years that made him Travis Matagot, and looks at Margaret with tears in his eyes and a weight on his heart. 

“They made their choice, I’m making mine. Make me mortal, Margaret. Let me go.” 

  
  


——

  
  


In the end, when they fought on that beach, Gable hadn’t been sure of the choice he’d made. They could barely remember their fight afterwards - two hundred years of bottled up emotions and strained friendship exploding out in an inferno of fury. But they knew something was wrong as their frenzy faded. Travis wouldn’t look them in the eye, his normally confident demeanour shaken by something that they couldn’t understand. 

It wasn’t until he kissed them that they felt it - his desperation, his  _ mortality _ . Their confusion dissipated into the wind, a sense of fear washing over them like waves. They’d  _ lied _ , and he’d chosen to leave them. 

Gable watched him walk away, anger still written across his face and his movements in a way that they’d never seen on him before. They go to retrieve their sword and head back into the fight when the shock of what he’d done truly set in, chilling them to their bones. 

Travis Matagot was going to die.

  
  


——

  
  


They’re all, somehow, still alive at the end of Bogonalia, and Travis knows that tomorrow is the start of a new beginning. He will age for the first time in centuries, his life no longer controlled by the Forest Queen and her whims.

He hasn’t spoken to Gable since their fight, their kiss enough to tell them what he’d done. They’re smart enough to work it out, to know what choice their lie led to. He thinks back to their kiss, the fear and desperation that led to it making him blush slightly. He can’t bring himself to regret that, even if he currently wants to strangle them. 

He watches them from across the town square as they fidget, staring at everything but him - they don’t get like this often, usually excellent at hiding their emotions. Their sadness is obvious, and he can’t blame them for it even if he wants to. So Travis weighs his options, thinks about how mad he  _ really  _ is, and makes another choice.

They lock eyes as he strides towards them, and he watches them freeze in place like a startled deer, but he doesn’t stop until he’s standing in front of them, a hand outstretched.

“Well? Do you want to dance?” He asks, and watches impatiently as they go through a whole spectrum of emotions he’s never seen on them before. It wasn’t  _ that  _ hard of a question, and he’s almost ready to take his hand back and stomp away when they reach out to take it, their hand warm on his. 

He leads them to join the other dancers, and waits, making this Gable’s call - his invitation, their acceptance, a push and shove they’ve shared for two centuries. There’s no reason for this to be any different, and they both know this, even as Gable’s hands flutter over his body, unsure of their place in his life now. He grabs one of them, twining their fingers together as they begin to sway, pulling their other hand to his waist. They dance in silence for a few minutes, until Travis decides he can’t bear the weight of the question hanging over them. 

“So, care to explain why you  _ lied  _ to me?”

Their grip tightens, but they don’t let go. It’s a miracle, he thinks, what Margaret did for both of them. The old Gable would make up excuses, let go of his hands and walk away, but instead they stare into his eyes, and...  _ oh.  _

He didn’t know how  _ broken _ angels looked when they cried. 

“Travis, you know what I am. We don’t get happy endings, we don’t get to  _ die _ . If I could find a way out I’d take it, you know that. But you think I’d let myself be so selfish as to just to keep you? You can go, you can be mortal - why would I take that from you?”

“Did you ever consider that being selfish was a good thing?” He snaps, and watches them withdraw slightly, their grip on him loosening. He grabs onto their hand even tighter, not willing to ever let them go - they’re doing this, one way or another. “Did you ever consider that dying,  _ together _ , was my one stipulation? That I can’t live without you and I know you can’t live without me?”

“I  _ know! _ ” They shout, and the dancers around them stop, moving away as Gable looks Travis in the eyes, all of their fear exposed for him to see. “I’m sorry, okay, but I can’t follow you! I can’t become mortal, Margaret can’t  _ fix _ me, but if she could? I’d die right beside you no matter what.” Their stare cuts through him like a knife, eyes reflecting the lights around them, and Travis suddenly can’t breathe. Have they always looked this handsome? “I can’t make you stay, and I can’t be selfish when you could be  _ free _ . I can’t do it, Travis, and I’m  _ sorry _ .”

Gable suddenly remembers where they are and blushes at their outburst, trying to steer them away from the square. But Travis holds on. They’re never this vulnerable, and he knows that the two of them would never have been while he was immortal. Having all of the time in the world makes it difficult to share emotions, but now, he’s going to die. Suddenly, it’s all worth it. 

He slowly reaches out to grab their other hand, and pulls them back to him, staring into eyes filled with worry and sadness. They couldn’t deny him a choice, he knows this, but they know what they’ve done. They’re going to lose their oldest and dearest friend, and still told him to go through with it, for his own happiness.  _ Oh Gable _ , he thinks,  _ my big dumb idiot.  _

They look into each other’s eyes, the presence of the other still comforting, still enough of a home to pretend it’s okay, even as they know one day it will be gone. Travis feels his heart ache for them, knowing that they’ll be alone again - but not yet. They still have time, he tells himself, and if he stops dancing to kiss them, forgiveness and apologies whispered softly as they part, nobody needs to know but them. 

  
  


——

  
  


Gable wakes up in his arms the next morning on the Uhuru, and they spend a moment just  _ looking _ at him. Until now they’d never woken up together, Travis always slipping away to regain his human form before Gable woke up. Being able to look at him and feel his arms around them makes them feel so comfortable, so  _ safe _ . They feel like they could stay here forever. 

They brush their hand over his face, tucking his hair behind his ear. They still as his eyes open, staring into their own. They lie there watching each other, wondering how long they’ll have moments like this, where the world collapses into the person across from you and time stops forever. 

Eventually, Travis rests his hand over theirs on his face, leaning into their touch and kissing their palm and,  _ oh _ , how gentle he is, when he knows that time will one day run out. 

They lean in to kiss him, the weight of his choice bearing down on them until they begin to cry in his arms, pretending they can’t feel Travis crying into their shoulder. 

  
  


——

  
  


Travis sometimes forgets he’s aging now. He’s coming down from the high of immortality, and is stupid enough to throw himself headfirst into fights and get himself injured, not used to being able to die. Gable is going to kill him for it if he doesn’t get himself killed first. 

Their anger at his self-sacrificial bullshit comes out in full one day after he almost gets himself killed for the fifth time that week. It isn’t entirely anger, they know - their main driving emotion when it comes to Travis now is  _ worry _ . It’s always been Gable and Travis, just the two of them, for so  _ long _ they can’t imagine a life without him. But eventually, they’ll have no choice but to live it, and it’s up to them to make him be safe so they can keep him for as long as possible. 

Travis was right, Gable realises, opening the door to Dref’s old office. Sometimes, it’s okay to be selfish for the people you love. 

He’s lounging in a seat as they enter, flicking through his illimat deck with a drink beside him. 

“And I’m guessing you didn’t invite me here for a fun drinking session?” he says, smirking at them in a way that means he’s deflecting. They suddenly feel sick at the thought of having a genuine emotion with him, accepting that this, as always, isn’t something they can do sober. 

They can feel his eyes on them as they down the first bottle they find, and turn to stare right back at him, unflinching. Gable sits down beside him, going to prepare their words and speak until he grabs their hand to stop them. They look into his eyes, and his words falter a few times before they’re dragged from him like a stone from a riverbed. 

“I think I want to leave.”

Gable’s heart stops as he looks away, staring at the table as his grip tightens on their fingers. It’s almost as if he thinks they’re going to run if he lets go, and they know the answer to their question before they even voice it. 

“ _ Why? _ ” 

“Well, you know, being immortal makes it pretty hard to plan for your future, and spending the rest of my  _ wonderful _ mortality on a ship sounds like hell! I have to  _ work _ , Gable! I can get tired now, I can die! I’m not spending the rest of my life  _ working _ on a  _ skyship _ .”

Gable stifles a laugh as they listen to him - after two hundred years, they can tell when he’s lying to protect himself. Underneath the act, they feel his fear of the constant danger he’s in now, and they feel his want to stay beside them in the bond Margaret forged between them. It’s a very Travis thing to do, to hide behind layers of complexities and lies, but Gable knows him well enough to know the truth. 

They can’t pretend their heart isn’t warmed by it. 

Eventually, he stops talking, looking at them with fear in his eyes. As they stare at each other, Gable realises they’ve never noticed how pretty his eyes are, reflecting the light above them and stealing their breath. They take a moment, squeezing his hand as they make up their mind. 

“Okay. So when do we go?”

  
  


——

  
  


It’s Jonnit who Gable worries for the most. His importance aboard the Uhuru is more than theirs ever could be, even as helmsperson - eventually, he will be the great Captain Jonnit Kessler, a hero of Speir. That can’t happen if he goes with them - he has his own family to go home to eventually, and staying with the crew means he can see them sooner.

He understood when they told him they were leaving, smart in ways beyond his age. Gable is, as always,  _ so _ proud of him. 

Their new home is a small town on the coast, a place where they can be safe from danger where nobody will know their names or their story. The Uhuru docks as Gable and Travis pack their final things, a comfortable silence shared between them. Eventually, they finish packing up, and Travis holds out his hand. They take it, grinning at him as they pick up his bag and exit their room for the last time. 

The crew is on deck as they head out, ready to say goodbye. Wendel and Nodoze head over to Gable immediately, pulling them into a hug. Of all the people they could possibly miss, these two will be high up on their list, and they make a note to check in on them when they can. 

They feel Nodoze slip something into their pocket as he comes out of the hug, and a cursory pat at their side reveals some rope. Gable grins at him to watch him blush, and laughs as he quickly turns around and walks away. Wendel pulls back too, patting them on the shoulder as he turns back to the crowd. 

Travis stands beside them, trying his best to look nonchalant despite the crew ignoring him. Gable knows he doesn’t care all that much, even if he did enjoy his time on the Uhuru, but it still pains him to be leaving no matter how much the crew detested him. As they finish up their goodbyes, they turn towards the gangplank and begin to descend, the only person they will ever regret leaving waiting for them at the bottom. 

Jonnit rushes over to them, and Travis lets go of Gable’s hand to drop down to his knees to hug him back, Gable following seconds later. The hug lasts for longer than they’re comfortable with, but they always make an exception for Jonnit, his presence a comfort they will miss more than anything else. 

They pull away eventually, laughing as they watch the others wipe away tears while pretending they all aren’t crying. Jonnit closes his eyes, a look of concentration coming over his face. Gable can feel his magic wrap around them, warm and hopeful, a guide for him to find both of them again whenever he wants. They feel their heart soar as they consider how much he cares for them, how much it hurts to leave him behind. 

How strange that one mortal could care for two broken people deeply enough to want to see them again. 

They stand, and he quickly grabs their hands, unwilling to say goodbye just yet. “I’m gonna miss you two so much - I’m coming to visit as soon as possible, I don’t care if it’s off our course.”

They both laugh, knowing that they’ll see him again soon - no matter what, they can’t imagine being apart for long. Gable already misses him, even as they stand right beside him. 

Jonnit lets go, and they turn to the other figure at the bottom of the gangplank, a small smile on their face as they regard the captain. Orimar stares back, calm and nonchalant in the same way he was the first time Gable met him. For a moment, Gable thinks he’s going to walk away without saying anything. Then, he winks, and turns back to the Uhuru to begin the ship’s departure. 

Jonnit looks at them one more time, no longer hiding his tears, and nods before joining the captain back on deck. The ship leaves, and Gable waves goodbye until the ship is gone from their sight. 

They turn to face the town, staring off into the crowds of people they’ll be living with now, before turning back to Travis. He’s holding out his hand, a grin on his face - they can’t help but grin back as they take it. 

“Shall we?”

  
  


——

  
  


For a few years, they get by on their own. Gable gets a job at the ship port lifting cargo and assisting ships, making friends with the other workers. Travis, ever the same, swindles people for money at illimat, their local tavern full of people trying to beat him and always failing. He’s getting older, and complains constantly - Gable still teases him about it, a form of comfort they’ve shared for centuries. They can tell he’s happy though, a part of him delighting in his freedom, his mortality. They spend as much time together as possible, ever aware of the passage of time and what they could lose at any moment. 

It’s after a long day at work that Gable finishes up and heads home, knowing that Travis will be waiting for them. They smile as they walk, thinking about their routine - he’ll kiss them at the door, showing them his winnings for the day. Eventually, they’ll eat, and Gable will braid his hair before bed. They’ll sleep, safe and comfortable in the knowledge that they’re together, and that nothing can break them apart. 

The routine changes when they walk through the door and see Margaret sitting on the couch. They stand frozen in the doorway as she smiles, patting the seat next to her as Travis enters from the kitchen. “Hello Gable. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

They sink down onto the couch beside her, watching as Travis does the same. They must look like they’ve never seen her before, their gaze fixed on her face, so they turn their attention to Travis, feeling their breath catch as they see the way he looks at her. They know who Margaret is to him, a nightmare about the river and the forest making him spill the truth like it was air dragged from his lungs. They can tell this must be a shock for all three of them. 

They all sit, waiting for someone else to speak as Margaret grows more amused watching them by the second. Eventually, Gable opens their mouth to say something smart, something that will make sense and break the silence. “Uhhh… you kiss Travis too, huh?” 

They immediately blush, breaking eye contact.  _ Oh my god why am I so fucking stupid, _ they think, but Margaret chuckles as she reaches out for their hand, her other wrapping around Travis’. 

“I felt your bond change, and I guessed that you had  _ finally _ had a conversation. I also felt that William - or Travis, if you prefer - still loved me, even if he didn’t believe I was his Margaret. It was easy for me to accept that I also felt that way. For both of you.”

Gable is glad they’re sitting down, otherwise the shock of being loved twice over would have made them fall. They clench Margaret’s hand like a lifeline as Travis reaches out for their other, keeping them grounded as Margaret’s magic flows through their bond. 

Gable gains the courage to look into Margaret’s eyes, and they can see why Travis loves her. She’s so  _ beautiful _ , and she loves  _ them _ . How lucky Gable is, to love two people so deeply that they can’t breathe for it. 

“So… I’m your favourite though, right?” They blurt out, and Margaret laughs, tears of joy in her eyes as she does. Travis joins in, laughing even harder at Gable’s blush as they break eye contact with Margaret. She eventually stops laughing, and the smile on her face could down the Sovereign with its brightness. 

“Well, I think that’s enough excitement for our poor Gable, dearheart,” She says, and Travis blushes at the pet name.  _ Fuck _ , Gable thinks,  _ I love them. _

It’s all they need to know as Margaret pulls them in for a kiss, her magic weaving between the three of them and tightening their threads, binding them together and tangling them in love. 

  
  


——

  
  


Margaret isn’t always there. She’s still a Black Lily, still travels around helping broken things, except this time she has a home to come back to. Travis can’t help but think about her when she’s gone, and the thought of her entering their house again one day is enough to fight off the rising flood of fear that she’s gone forever. 

Of course, Gable is still here, a constant presence in his life as he ages. It’s been almost twenty years since they left the Uhuru, and he’s starting to know how fucking  _ Spit _ feels, old and waylaid with nothing but aches. But Gable still loves him, still wants to be beside him, and fuck if he knows why.

They’d fought about it once. Travis has felt old and useless, and he’d told them to go, that he was holding them back with his mortality. His uselessness made them vulnerable, he’d said, and he would understand if they left. They’d hugged him then, kissing his forehead and holding him tighter as he sobbed in their arms, begging for a second chance to be immortal again. The thought of leaving them consumed him, and Gable had taken his hand and sat him down on their bed. 

Through their own tears, they held his hand and explained that, no matter what, they would never leave him, too in love to even consider it. They’d soothed his fears with their words and their touch, a grounding presence that made him feel safer than he’d ever felt before. 

Travis had somehow cried harder when Gable looked him in the eyes and told him they loved him, not used to letting himself be vulnerable and have someone stay. He’d obviously, instinctively said it back, the bond between them tightening as he did. At least they have this, he reasons, for the nights when he’ll be gone. No matter what, the love he feels for Gable can hold them when he can’t, and they can keep it held against them for the rest of time. 

They deserve to know that they’re always loved, after all. 

  
  


——

  
  


Margaret is home, and Jonnit is visiting, and Gable feels the tangled threads of the bonds they share weaving around them, magic from both Jonnit and Margaret keeping them grounded. They’re all eating around the table Travis won in a game of illimat, listening to him tell a story about a win he had recently and watching Margaret interject with the truthful version every so often. 

Gable stares at Travis across the table as he jokes, making Jonnit laugh as he exaggerates the details. They can tell he’s happy, that he’s okay with his choice to become mortal, but it hurts to watch him grow older. He still looks so similar, but not regenerating your body every day takes its toll - he has  _ wrinkles _ now, and scars from his more dangerous illimat games. Sometimes they don’t recognise the man they spent two hundred years staring at, finding it almost impossible to replace that one with the one in front of them. 

Travis looks over at them, and they smile as they reach over the table for his hand. He grins as he takes it, turning back to Jonnit as he makes a stupid joke that Gable doesn’t hear. Whatever it was, Jonnit pretends to get up and leave, making everyone laugh. 

Gable watches Jonnit as he laughs, a grin on their face at his infectious laughter. He hasn’t changed much in the past few years, only looking slightly older than he did at fifteen. Part of them worries about that, but they push it deep down - Jonnit can’t be anything but mortal, and there’s nothing they can do about him looking slightly less young. It happens, they know this, so there’s definitely nothing they should worry about. 

Their rationalisations only slightly comfort them as they turn to look at Margaret. She’s already watching them, her smile one of sadness. They’ve known her for a long time now, and they can read her face no matter how much she hides. She looks at them, sadness in her eyes that Gable knows is reflected in their own - they all know that eventually one of their makeshift family will be missing, the suspense of it hanging over their heads like a weight about to drop. Margaret is good at keeping her sadness locked away though, and she smiles at Gable again before turning back to the rest of the table. 

Gable knows she won’t be beside them forever too - Black Lilies aren't immortal, and Margaret has merely extended her lifespan. Eventually she’ll be gone too, and Gable will walk Speir alone for the rest of eternity. They don’t have forever with the people they love, and accepting that is the hardest thing they’ve ever had to face. 

They rejoin the conversation with an insult that makes Travis blush as the others laugh, making a promise to the universe as they look at their family. 

They’ll never let the people they love be alone again. 

  
  
  


——

But they aren’t at his side when it’s time. They’re working down on the docks, hauling cargo for a skyship that’s just come into port when they feel Travis pull on the thread Margaret used to bind them to him. It’s a small, silent tug, just five words that will haunt them for the rest of their existence. 

_ Thank you. I love you. _

They drop the box they’re holding as they feel the connection between them go slack, sprinting up the road to their house as they ignore the calls of the workers behind them. They can’t feel anything except their rising fear, can’t hear anything except their plea to a dead god that he’ll be okay, he isn’t gone,  _ no no no please not now I can’t lose him yet— _

They burst through the door, and Margaret looks up in shock. There’s tears in her eyes, and she’s still holding his hand. He isn’t moving. 

Gable feels their heart stop as they collapse onto the floor beside him, grabbing his other hand. They’re crying, they realise, tears spilling from them like the apologies they can hear in their head. They don’t realise they’re speaking them out loud until Margaret takes their other hand and pulls them into a hug, crying into their shoulder. 

Part of Gable died with him, they decide, even if they weren’t there to hold his hand. 

  
  


——

  
  


Without Travis, their home isn’t home anymore. Margaret tries to help them through the pain, but they can’t think of anything other than how much it hurts. It’s late one night, Gable lying in bed beside her, heart aching for their third to be beside them. They make a choice that leaves their heart broken, standing to grab whatever they can that belonged to Travis. The comfort of his things will keep them safe as they walk alone, and they try to pretend it’s not because they miss him. 

They can’t stop thinking about how everything they touch turns to ash. 

Life with Travis was stable, a chance to try living in one place for as long as they could. But stability was never their strength, and nothing, for Gable, can last forever. So they gather their things, take one last look at their home, and walk out into the night. 

They have no idea where they’re going, but a home without Travis is a prison, and they’re trapped in a whirlwind of numbness and regret. 

  
  


——

  
  


Five years later, Margaret and Jonnit walk into a bar and make eye contact with an angel. They sit in front of them, and Gable feels Margaret’s heart break as they look away. This is their  _ partner _ , one of the loves of their life, and they can’t even look at her. Out of the corner of their eye, they watch her look over to Jonnit, worry clear on his face as he nervously smiles at Gable. She breathes, trying to keep herself calm through the waves of emotion Gable can feel through their bond. 

Gable watches her reach out to place her hands over theirs on their drink, and feels their heart ache at the memory of holding them whenever they could. She begins to speak, and despite everything Gable could cry at the softness of her voice, a comfort they hadn’t known they were missing. 

“I must say, this isn’t where we expected to find you. How long have you been here, Gable?” She asks, the sad smile on her face mirrored by Jonnit’s. His presence is a comfort too, one they’d missed in the years since they left home. He looks exactly the same, the only difference being a fancy new captain’s hat that sits over his bandana. 

Part of them worries about how he looks the same, but the part of them made of grief and anger shuts them up. However much they missed the people in front of them, it isn’t enough to stop them from saying what they’re feeling.

“Oh, you know. Time blends together, nothing matters, who  _ fucking _ cares, Margaret? Who cares that I’m all alone, sat in a bar with nothing because,  _ oh no _ , my best friend died! And it’s  _ all my fault!” _

They wrench their glass from Margaret’s hands, and throw it across the bar, watching it shatter on impact. What a familiar sensation, they think, of being broken so easily and by something so small as an unexpected force.

They don’t realise they’re crying until Jonnit stands, coming around their booth to sit beside them and wrap them in his arms. Margaret does the same on the other side, and the three of them sob for the person they’ve lost, Margaret and Jonnit weaving their magic to connect them together again. Gable feels their worry wrap around them as they cry together, and realises just how loved they are by these two wonderful people beside them. 

  
  


——

  
  


Gable still struggles with the loss of their love. Things are easier, time and distance making the ache they feel in their heart fade slightly, but it’s still lingering over them. Instead of travelling on foot, they take up a job on Jonnit’s skyship, more at home in the sky and on the run than they could ever be on land with a stable home again.

The things of Travis’ they took with them are scattered around the captain’s quarters, where they sit with Captain Kessler now. Gable feels the weight of watches in their pocket, an illimat deck laid out on the table in front of them. Jonnit sits in his captain's chair, Travis’ coat from Nordia draped over his shoulders. Gable grins at the sight - he looks all  _ fancy _ , important in a way Travis could never pull off when it still belonged to him. He’s the picture of a captain, and Gable knows how much this means to him. 

They’ve been by his side for years now, comforted by the lack of permanency of a skyship that can dock and leave at any moment. It took them a while to realise how on edge they were, constantly afraid that they’d lose Jonnit at some point, whether through a fight or just from him aging. They’ve already vowed that they’re staying beside him no matter what happens, already certain that they’re going to get to say goodbye to Jonnit the way they couldn’t for Travis. 

As they look over at him, sitting in his chair, something grips them tightly and reminds them that he was fifteen almost thirty years ago. Oh _ fuck _ . 

Jonnit catches their wide-eyed stare, looking back before confusion crosses his face. “Gable? What’s up? You’re doing that thing where you look really intense again.”

They blink at him as they take him in, finally accepting the fact that Jonnit is, apparently, as immortal as they are. “Jonnit, how old are you? Because for the last, oh, you know, thirty years, you’ve looked twenty to me.”

They watch him register their words, his eyes widening as he quickly stands up to pace the room. Gable can hear the wheels turning in his head, and they let out a laugh to distract from the ever-present monologue of  _ what the fuck _ running through their head. 

Eventually, he slumps back down into his chair, shock clear on his face as he looks over at Gable. “Gable… did you  _ make _ me immortal? Is this what happens when I spend too much time with you?”

“What? No, Jonnit, I have no idea. Your magic, maybe? Who knows. You’re just… like me now, huh?”

He looks at them for a moment, searching for a sign that they’re lying - and  _ fuck _ if that doesn’t hurt - before tentatively smiling, somewhere between shock and awe. “Yeah. Yeah, my magic makes me immortal. Sure. Man, Travis would be so mad if he could see us right now. Imagine the look on his face when he found out I was  _ immortal _ !”

And Gable thinks about their first night in Nordia, when Travis looked at them from across the bar as a man at night for the first time in two hundred years and called them his  _ friends _ . That was the last night they’d been certain of his place at their side, and the ache they feel when they think of Travis grows stronger. 

But they aren’t alone, now. Jonnit can keep Travis with him too, tucked away as a memory of one of the casualties of immortality. Somehow, that comforts them more than anything else has since they were found by their family again. 

Gable blinks away tears as they smile at Jonnit, watching him do the same. They both reach the same conclusion as they watch each other, knowing that no matter what, Travis Matagot will live on in their memories forever. 

“Yeah. Yeah, he would.”

  
  


——

  
  


Gable’s feet crunch the sand beneath their boots as they walk over the beach in Nordia. They haven’t been back here for over a century, too many memories of their fight with Travis tainting their view of the place. But Jonnit wanted to stop over for some cargo, so they decided to come back to the place where their life spiralled out of control. 

They step into the waves, letting them crash over their feet as their memories wash over them, memories of William merging with Travis in their head as they look out to sea.

They think of William, turning their unconscious body over on the beach and threatening to kill them mere moments later. Of all the people he chose to look over, he chose  _ them _ , and they can’t imagine not being grateful for that. They laugh as they remember the look in his eyes as they grabbed his throat, a lack of fear startling them in a way they didn’t understand. 

_ From one century to the next,  _ Gable thinks _ , we always fought on the beach. Funny, that.  _

A memory of the Forest Queen’s game room surfaces, and Gable can’t help but laugh as they think of how he’d  _ sauntered  _ into the room, looking like an absolute idiot. They’d wanted to strangle him so bad, and now, they’re so glad they didn’t. It would have saved them so much pain, sure, but somewhere along the way they fell in love with him. 

They can’t ever deny how lucky that makes them feel, that they were loved by a man who feels his emotions so deeply they follow him for centuries. 

There’s a noise behind them, and they turn their head to see Margaret wading into the water beside them. For a moment, she stands beside them staring out into the water, presumably remembering Travis in her own way. Eventually, she turns to Gable and smiles. 

“Having fun? Or is this a special occasion?” she asks, and Gable hears the shake in her voice that she tries to hide. They know she’s excellent at hiding her emotions, but in front of them she doesn’t even try, trusting them so much it hurts. Some nights, in Gable’s quarters aboard Jonnit’s ship, Margaret will cry in their arms, and they’ll mourn Travis together, eventually falling asleep wishing he was still beside them. 

They watch Margaret take their hand as she moves closer to them. “You know that I’m very proud of you, right? I know how hard it was for you to lose him, but you’re doing so  _ well _ . I’m so happy to see it.”

Gable looks down at her as they tangle their fingers through hers. “Living with a Black Lily made learning to heal pretty easy. I’m just glad I didn’t have to wait, oh,  _ one hundred and ninety years _ for some supernatural therapy, I guess.”

Margaret laughs, the stars reflecting off her eyes as she leans in even closer, and  _ fuck _ , was she always this beautiful? Gable remembers the day she walked back into their lives, love in her heart and a bond unshaken by the rushing waves of life. “Well, thank you, dear. I’m  _ so sorry _ it took me so long to get to you, but I was a little bit preoccupied with not remembering who Travis was.”

Smirking, Gable leans in too, pretending they aren’t blushing. “Well… I suppose I can forgive you. You saved our repressed fucker from himself, and he can’t say it to you himself, so I will instead - thank you, Margaret. I know he would want you to know that.”

They ignore the tears in their eyes as Margaret brings their joined hands up to her face to kiss their knuckles, only acknowledging them as she brings up her other hand to wipe them away. Gable grasps the hand cupping their face, holding it there in a perfect mockery of Travis holding theirs the day they woke up together in Nordia. Gable would laugh if it wasn’t so  _ fucking _ obvious that the three of them were always meant to end up like this, tangled and bound by their own threads. 

Margaret, still holding their hands, smiles up at them, leaning in further. “It’s not policy to kiss my ex-clients, but for my husband’s partner, I think I can make an exception. If you’re willing, that is.”

Gable doesn’t even need to hear the end of her sentence. They’re too busy thinking about how the universe changes around them as they kiss her again,  _ finally _ , and they get why Travis didn’t love anybody else for two centuries - it’s hard to love again when you’ve already perfected it. 

  
  


——

  
  


It still hurts, sometimes. Gable knows that all three of them miss Travis, haven’t processed their loss together to a point where they can share it out equally. But they do talk when they can. Margaret keeps herself busy with her work, but sometimes they cross ports and she’ll stay with them for a while. She isn’t beside Gable right now, up in the clouds on the deck of Jonnit’s ship, her work stealing her away. They don’t mind - Jonnit is with them and so is his crew, who smile at Gable as they pass them. 

Someone stands beside them, leaning over the rail of the ship to look over the sky, and they turn to see Jonnit looking at them with a smile on his face. “Judging by the look on your face, you’re thinking of Margaret, aren’t you?” He asks, laughing as they blush. 

“Well, yes, all the time, but I was actually also thinking about Travis.” They admit, watching Jonnit’s smile take on a sad quality. He pulls them into a hug they accept willingly, and they share a moment to think about Travis. They’re dragged back in time to the night Margaret and Jonnit found them after his death, and let their emotions and memories wash over them, knowing Jonnit is doing the same. 

They haven’t ever done this, the two of them. Before, the wound was too new to begin patching it, but somehow, up in the sky and alone with their other best friend, Gable feels like they could start. 

Jonnit pulls back and turns to the sky again, a look in his eye that spells trouble. “Margaret’s been teaching me a few tricks of hers to help people process things. You want to talk about him? It apparently helps.”

Gable scoffs, loud and uncaring of the stares they receive from the deckhands, looking sideways at Jonnit as they turn back to the sky. “You know what? Sure. We can’t inflate his ego anymore, might as well talk while we can.”

He grins, eyes lighting up as he considers his options to embarrass Travis. “Oh! Remember that time he cheated at illimat and Spit got so mad he almost broke his Okus?”

Gable laughs at that, the memory coming back to them as Jonnit brings it up. “Fuck, yeah, what an absolute fucking dumbass,” They say, distractedly shifting through their own memories to make him laugh. 

They tell him a story about William, and the night passes quickly as they talk. They can feel the weight they carry lessen with each word, smiling becoming easier the longer they talk. Neither of them cry for the first time since they lost him, looking back on their memories with love. Eventually, they take their leave to sleep, the bond between the two of them and Travis thawing the ice Gable felt in their heart. 

Gable wakes later, alone in their quarters. For a moment, they feel as though the weight in their chest will crush them, memories of their love dragging them down into pain and suffering once again. But for once, the sadness fades as they wade through it, other happier memories bubbling up and making them smile. 

They’re going to keep the weight he left them with forever, they know. Love isn’t easily forgotten, and Gable watched Travis carry Margaret with him for centuries when she was first lost. They think about how he’d react to being loved forever, grinning at the thought of his flustered face and embarrassed smile, and decide that it’s okay.

Travis deserves to be loved, after all. 

  
  


——

  
  


Several years later, Gable and Margaret are together once again, walking arm in arm through the streets of Aurum. Jonnit walks beside them, Travis’ coat still over his shoulders and a new captain’s hat on his head. They’re here for business, having come into a need for more cargo that took them to the ex-capital of the Red Feathers. 

As they walk, joking about the Youngblood family, they pass by an alley, a figure emerging from it and walking past them. They’re dressed in the fanciest clothing Gable has ever seen, combined with white hair and a very stupid pair of gloves—  _ oh shit.  _

Margaret and Jonnit gasp in unison, and Gable is the only one whose voice will answer with words as they hope with everything they have that they’re right. 

“ _ William _ ?”

The man turns, and Gable freezes. It’s  _ him _ , it has to be, and he looks exactly like they remember, a reincarnation of the person they see when they close their eyes. 

He walks towards the three of them, a smile on his face that Gable knows means he’s planning something. “I see you know my name, which honestly isn’t surprising, I am the most  _ famous _ Black Lily you’ll ever meet, after all. Is there a way I can help you?” He asks, and Gable _ grins _ . 

“Oh, you look pretty stupid for a Black Lily, doesn’t he, Margaret? Jonnit?” 

Jonnit can’t contain his laughter, holding onto the wall to keep himself upright as William splutters, reaching out to grab at Margaret and Gable’s joined arms. “I’ll have you know I’m  _ very _ smart, thank you! And I bet you’re very stupid, so there! Good day, you extremely tall person!”

He lets go of their arms, walking away as if he has somewhere important to be, trying to give off an air of innocence. But the three of them know him all too well as they simultaneously look down to Gable and Margaret’s wrists. 

Gable can’t help but smile at their missing watches, looking to either side of them to watch identical grins spread across their family’s faces. Margaret speaks, her voice loud and light as she looks to William, and Gable’s heart skips as they fall even more in love with her. 

“Stealing watches is fun, but you should  _ at least _ make sure you can run faster than the people you steal from. I also have some questions that I would just  _ love  _ to have answered. Jonnit, Gable, be dears and stop him from leaving?”

Gable snorts, watching William stop walking and turn around, looking between them and going pale as he registers her words. With that, he bolts, and Jonnit takes off after him.  _ What a shame for him _ , Gable thinks,  _ that Jonnit never lost his ability to run.  _

The meeting can wait, they decide, taking Margaret’s hand as they undo their tangle of arms, pulling her along beside them to fall into step with Jonnit. They laugh as they run, a cacophony of noise that mingles in the air with the sounds of Aurum. Gable watches their loved ones run by their sides, their laughter light and joyous as they’re  _ finally _ reunited with the missing part of their family. 

And as he runs, William realises that the usual fear of getting caught isn’t present, the chase more of a game than anything else. For some reason, the laughter behind him makes him  _ happy.  _ He sprints away from his pursuers, his laughter joining their own as he realises that he’s found something he’s been missing for his entire life. 

He finally feels like he’s home. 


End file.
